This invention relates to a passive safety belt apparatus in which, in conjunction with opening and closing of a door of a motorcar, the belt is automatically positioned with respect to a rider.
A conventional passive safety belt apparatus usually operates so that a lap belt to be applied to the waist of a rider is pulled out from a retractor provided in the door. The belt is directed downwards to pass through a through ring attached to a lower portion of the door. The belt is then brought into engagement with an engaging member provided on an inner side of a seat situated adjacent the center line of the vehicle body. In this case, a portion of the lap belt pulled out from the door is as shown in FIG. 6. Namely, the lap belt a taken out from the interior of the door b is passed from above through the through ring c and is turned in the direction to reach the engaging member.
Consequently, this conventional apparatus is inconvenient in that, if the door b is rapidly closed, the retracting speed of the retractor cannot follow the door speed. A portion of the lap belt a becomes slack and hangs downwardly. It is possible for the slack, hanging portion to get pinched between the door b and the vehicle body as the door is rapidly closed.